An open letter to Model Railroader about the BL niagara

It does sorta look like an early Soviet Hotel Class missile sub.

Reply to
Steve Caple
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YOU SIR, have entirely too much time on your hands. Wanna come over to my house and help me build my railroad?

Those were great, Steve. thanks for sharing them.

Reply to
Frank Rosenbaum

Ingalls built those Hotels for the Russkis under contract from the Smolensk plant. You do know that whole "Cold War" thing was a conspiracy conducted by the two governments, don't you? They wanted 1500 of the locomotives, but the State Department said nyet. Woulda created lotsa jobs in Pascagoula.

Froggy,

Reply to
Froggy

That's right Eric, they aren't. 99% of the folks that buy a particular road's steam locomotive are not modelers of that road. They just like the engine. THAT'S who you have to sell to to stay in business.

You are never going to see what you posted in that letter. Get used to it.

Froggy,

Reply to
Froggy

Most people think Dreyfuss J-3 Hudson when they think of the NYC.

I'd like to see some Canadian steam as well.

Eric

Wolf Wrote:

"Sure, you NYC modellers want these, but the rest of us think "Niagra" when we think NYC. And if we buy any NYC loco at all, it will be -- wait for it -- a Niagara."

Reply to
newyorkcentralfan

Only if I'm forced to.

Reply to
Wolf Kirchmeir

" snipped-for-privacy@bigfoot.com" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

Hah hah hah hah hah - you don't even mention the review in your letter!

Reply to
Mark Mathu

MR have yet to print anything about the major gear splitting problem with the Athearn 4-6-2 and 2-8-2 and, more importantly, Athearn seeming refusal to do anything about it. A little earlier than that was the awful Walthers plastic turntable. So bad, it turns out that neither magazine reviewed it.

Computer and auto magazines publish uncomplimentary reviews of products even if the manufacturer(s) advertise in their magazines. MR or RMC even publish a negative review or letter about an advertisers' product? Never.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

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Reply to
Roger T.

Roger T. spake thus:

I've always viewed these magazines, especially MR, as basically extensions of the Walthers catalog. The usual attributes of journalism certainly don't apply here (like even an attempt at the *apperance* of independence from one's advertisers).

Reply to
David Nebenzahl

Do you think that NH I-5's and NYC Niagras didn't do any of the work of the railroad? The NH I-5's (all 10) you could see just about hourly between Boston and New Haven. The I-5's were the big steam passenger power on the road, and handled all the important trains for almost all of those 15 years they were running: Merchants Limited, Yankee Clipper, Gilt Edge, etc. I assume the Niagras were also used in a simular manner, being reserved for the best and fastest trains, right? Kinda makes them famous, eh? I wonder why someone who wants to make money would ever want to make a model of a famous engine? Hmm... Like Lionel and the PRR 6-8-6 Turbine...

They have a very poor rendidtion of a NH I-5 by IHC available. The only thing right is the wheel arrangement. If I and all my NH friends are not really NH fans because we want an I-5 model vs. a K-1d Mogul, then you are not really a NYC fan if you don't want a Niagra. BTW, Weaver did make a fairly accurate O-scale NH I-5. So far, I have yet to hear any whining about the lack of a really good O-scale NH J-1 Mikado.

Paul A. Cutler III

************* Weather Or No Go New Haven *************
Reply to
Pac Man

There are two problems that have been voiced here, the first being, as always, someone's favorite road was modelled, and not the item he wanted. Quick answer, tough. For some odd and unfathomable reason, the railroads ran what worked for them in the application they were in. For the same reason, what will be modelled is going to be something that's going to sell, or they hope it is.

The next, it used to be that when someone wanted a specific loco, they bought a generic loco and added detail to make it. It was never a perfect answer, but much better than complaining that something they wanted wasn't available.

The original poster here probably doesn't care one whit about GBW, more or less restricted to one state, but also probably doesn't bother to think that NYC gets the same from me, as well as PRR. HOwever, if a loco looks interesting to me, and the price is reasonanble, I'll probably have one sooner or later even if I never intend on running it. BL prices being somewhat above what I'm going to pay for curiosity, what they make isn't a factor. THose that are NYC fans, just be happy that something is available. For those that model logging or mining, there's a lot less that can be run without adding quite a lot. But, that's where the fun is.

Not that I don't think a streamlined Hudson in CMSP&P color wouldn't be nice, I'm just not going to hold my breath.

Rich

Reply to
Richard

"Do you think that NH I-5's and NYC Niagras didn't do any of the work of the railroad? The NH I-5's (all 10) you could see just about hourly between Boston and New Haven. The I-5's were the big steam passenger power on the road, and handled all the important trains for almost all of those 15 years they were running: Merchants Limited, Yankee Clipper, Gilt Edge, etc. I assume the Niagras were also used in a simular manner, being reserved for the best and fastest trains, right? Kinda makes them famous, eh? I wonder why someone who wants to make money would ever want to make a model of a famous engine? Hmm... Like Lionel and the PRR 6-8-6 Turbine..."

Well of course they did work but just a small fraction of it. On the NYC if you watched the mainline for say eight hours you'd see maybe one or two niagaras and dozens of hudsons, pacifics, mikes and mohawks go by. It's damned diffucult to model that if you don't have the locomotives. Other than the USRA mikes the Central had which made up a very small percentages of the roster, the signature NYC mikes, the H-5 and the H-10 just aren't available.

Also if you model the NYC at any time that's not between 1945 and the late 1950s they're totally irrelivant.

" They have a very poor rendidtion of a NH I-5 by IHC available."

If you consider the IHC hudson to be a model of the I-5 I'd strongly urge you to discontinue smoking crack.

" If I and all my NH friends are not really NH fans because we want an I-5 model vs. a K-1d Mogul, then you are not really a NYC fan if you don't want a Niagra."

It's been my experience that a large majority of people who model large railroads model branchlines or secondary route on which the large mainline power was not found.

I model the Central in Oct 1938. There are no Niagaras and won't be for another seven years.

"BTW, Weaver did make a fairly accurate O-scale NH I-5. So far, I have yet to hear any whining about the lack of a really good O-scale NH J-1 Mikado."

Those of us who are model railroaders have other priorities than the toy train collector wankers.

Eric

Reply to
newyorkcentralfan
[...]
[Paul wrote:]

Wow, Eric, it's just terrible that BLI and other manufacturers ignore those of you who model Central in October 1938. What gall! I mean, the good will they are foregoing, and huge profits they are missing! There must be, lessee, two of you? Three, maybe?

And oh, you sure gave it to those misguided souls who aren't model railroaders, but dare to act as if they were - I mean, how can anyone who doesn't model a specific railroad in a specific month and year have the affrontery to class him or herself with the likes of you?

Reply to
Wolf Kirchmeir

An F-7 Baltic, a-la 1938, would be the bomb! A well done, prototypically correct '39 Hiawatha train set to go with it would send me to the poor house, cause I'd have to get it. Southern Pacific claimed the Daylights were "The most beautiful train in the world." Obviously, no one working for SP had ever seen the Hiawathas. The Daylights were cute, in a California sort of way, but the Hiawathas were not only beautiful inside and out, they exuded class as well. Back in the '70s I built a complete, 1948 Olympian Hiawatha in O scale for a fellow who had an A-B-A set of Erie Builts scratch built to pull it. What a thing of great beauty it was.

Froggy,

Reply to
Froggy

It is beginning to look like Eric is trying to dig himself out of a hole Wolf. He's probably realized that he has made a major gaffe and isn't going to get any support from this board. Now he's trying to justify all he said to a non-responsive audience.

Hey Eric . . . When you find yourself in a hole, you need to stop digging. Many of us know how you feel, but your approach and attitude leaves much to be desired.

Froggy,

Reply to
Froggy

For what it's worth, I was at Trainfest here in Milwaukee this wekend, and I stopped at the Global Outlet Corporation booth. They are going to be importing a brass Ingalls 4-S. You can look and drool... just shield your eyes from the price.

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Reply to
Mark Mathu

Sorry, Froggy, but I have to concur with what NH historian (and author of "New Haven Power") Jack Swanberg said of the Hiawathas and others like it on page 152 of his Power book. He called them "ungainly 'inverted bathtub' monsters". :-) And in that, I have to agree. I'm afraid that I don't find much appeal in any of those designs. But that's alright, I don't much like the Daylights either. Too many odd bumps and rough corners, IMHO (the smokebox door especially). But then, I'm totally biased towards anything New Haven, so take my opinion with a grain of salt (or two). LOL I'll take anything NH over anything else, even those "toothache" cross compound T-1 0-6-0's the NH had, or their Forneys and Bogeys, or their Untion Freight "steam dummy" geared 0-4-0's or the like-wise boxed Climax. Those are all beautiful compared to anything owned by any other road. ;-)

Paul A. Cutler III

************* Weather Or No Go New Haven *************
Reply to
Pac Man

Please don't tell me if you find it, I'm in enough trouble with my credit card already.

I've got a tape with a short segment on it of the Hiawatha coming into Milwaukee being pulled by the Hudson. Even in B/W it's something to behold.

Rich

Reply to
Richard

I suppose that this would have a lot to do with where you were born, etc., but what some find ugly, others find beautiful. As most of the time I was anywhere near trains, and that ended when I was nine or so, most of what I saw were steam. Therefore, to ask me to do anything with a diesel is asking to be disappointed. Being only some thirty miles out of Milwaukee, Well,,,,

And no, I don't ever remember seeing the Hiawatha.

Dammit.

Rich

Reply to
Richard

"> Sorry, Froggy, but I have to concur with what NH historian (and author

Come on guys, be honest, compared with the average UK loco, the average North American loco, steam in plain ugly. :-)

Even the most stylish North American railway, the CPR, came a poor second to any of the stylish UK locos.

-- Cheers Roger T.

Home of the Great Eastern Railway

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Reply to
Roger T.

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